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#MeToo – Friday Fictioneers

Good Wednesday evening, my Fellow Friday Fictioneers and Fabulous Followers! Today’s story is somewhat outside of my usual fare. I don’t often (if ever) use today’s “in the news” things but this one just came to me. To think I was going in a totally different direction when I first saw the pic. Might go crazy and do a second one with that first idea. We’ll see.

Thank you always to our fearless leader, Rochelle Wisoff (no “e”) Fields for keeping us coming back week after week. And this week, Rochelle chose a most interesting picture from J. Hardy Carroll so thank you to him for allowing us to write our 100 words based on his pic.

Should you wish to read other versions, please click on the Blue Frog. If you want to join in on the addictive fun, click here for the rules and regs…

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80 thoughts on “#MeToo – Friday Fictioneers”

Straight forward and to the point. I felt the inward seething for, like so many of us, at one time or another, I have experienced this. Where do these boneheads get off thinking this is okay? I’d love to hear from some of the men in the group. Grrrrrrreat Story, my friend.

There are always jerks in the world and certain industries, such as many of the trades, tolerate and even encourage this sort of behavior. Of course as we’ve seen in the news lately, the problem is much more wide spread.

One time when I was working at the donut shop, I was in the process of mopping the floor. Think of a square with the SE wall extending a little because that’s where the toilets were.
I’d done the washrooms and was working out down that south aisle. The door was at the NW corner of the square, kitty-corner to the washrooms, you could say.
Some fellow walked in the door with the muddiest boots I’ve ever seen in the city. Instead of going straight in and then turning toward the washrooms, he turned toward where I was mopping and tromped with his size 13s, tracking mud all across where I was mopping and where I’d just mopped. FUME!
So was he clueless, just not paying any attention? Or did he do it deliberately? Did he think since I had the mop I could easily clean up after him? He never spoke—and I couldn’t lip off to a customer. But I’ve always wondered just what his attitude was toward women, or women working, to tromp over my clean floor like that without even a “Sorry.”

You’ve done a great job of describing a situation that ought to have died out with the original cavemen, as opposed to the few (increasingly small I hope) who are still around. As a man I have no idea how it would feel to experience this every day. I live near a racecourse that holds an annual “Ladies’ Day” at which it’s normal for a substantial proportion of the racegoers to get ridiculously drunk then head into town and behave in a way that many wouldn’t want to be reminded of the next day. I had to walk through the crowds on my way home from work. While weaving through people of both sexes vomiting and urinating (occasionally at the same time) in the street or alleyways, I was sometimes on the receiving end of shouted offers from women to participate in activities that would have tested the energy and flexibility of a young man, never mind an old codger like me. Of course, none of the offers was serious, but I still felt embarrassed and uncomfortable.
On the other 364 days of the year, it’s a lovely place to live.

Thank you for sharing this, dear Sir. I am sure a small population of the male gender has been on the receiving end of inappropriate – the other night I had nigh school chums over for an oyster fest (bloody he’ll, I can’t believe we’ve known each other for over 40 years – ahem!) And 2 of the men admitted to having been sexually harassed on the job.
I too hope the numbers of cavemen (and women) keep reducing…

Great story. Great message. Great resolution.
The urge seems to be hard-wired into men. I was with three male business colleagues once – they were nice men, civilised professionals – when an extremely attractive woman walked past. They stopped talking, and their eyes tracked her until she was out of sight. Even their postures changed.
They didn’t misbehave, there were no whistles or catcalls, but for twenty seconds all three of them were thinking of having sex with that woman.
I’m with you. Let’s call out bad behaviour!

I never had actual “hooted” or wolf-whistled at a woman, but I have admired their assets. 🙂
Had a chicken plant girl check me out one time. Her head spun around like Linda Blair in the Exorcist. It was a little unnerving. Her picket-fence grin made it even worse.

Well written Dale. Not something I see happen anymore. I don’t know whether it just doesn’t happen here or perhaps I’m now too ancient for anyone to bother with (though I don’t here it happening to anyone else either).

I find it devastating that these things happens… I wonder how men might even think that it’s OK to do that. I actually never found that kind of company comforting… to0 close the the bullies I used to hide from.

It’s a phenomenon that I fail to understand. As I mentioned to others, when I was younger I was actually flattered that it happened and would smile in return. But I don’t think I would have if the comments were more crude…

This works so well, the way you use the ‘hot stuff’ insult but also how things get ‘dimmer’ (a bit further away from the fire of the insults?) and her breath at the end – which also recalls fire and how difficult it can be to breath in both situations. Fab!

I think the only time I’ve seen women behave in this way was when they were drunk, and that only rarely. It’s a cliche but definitely hard wired into many men. No one should be made to feel as uneasy as this girl has, yet it happens all the time.
Well writtne Dale

Some may laugh but I swear I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about this kind of thing when I got old. However, old men are around, both married and unmarried, who will try to touch a hand, etc. It never seems to end. When I was young I got whistles and was embarrassed. Good writing, Dale. 😦 — Suzanne